


Heart of Glass

by PondAmyPond



Category: X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-05-20 15:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6014100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PondAmyPond/pseuds/PondAmyPond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex Summers finally feels like he's found a home. Okay, so he doesn't like ALL of them, but he considers the mutants he meets through Charles Xavier to be his friends. Especially Francesca. There's something different about her, you know, apart from the invisibility. But as they battle against old, and new, enemies, do the two of them even stand a chance?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Summers, or any of the X-Men characters used in this work. 
> 
> I will try to update this, but it will not be regular. I will finish it eventually though, so just be patient please! Sorry!!
> 
> I hope you like it :) Please leave comments to tell me what you thought!

Alex huffed under his breath as he looked around the room at his fellow mutants. Raven (or “Mystique” as she had dubbed herself) was giving everyone nicknames, and he felt the tension building in him as everyone demonstrated their powers one by one. They were going to get to him soon, and that was not going to end well. The last time he had used his powers… He let the thought trail off, not wanting to dwell on his painful past. He used the tricks he had learnt in prison, and began to focus on specific things in the room. The large wall of glass that looked out over the courtyard, the large statue in the middle seeming to leer at him in a menacing way. Then his focus flicked to the glass again, or more specifically, the reflections in the glass. He could see everyone in the room reflected there, and he felt a little thrill run through him when he thought about how comfortable he felt in the company of the other mutant teens. He and Raven were the oldest. Well, he thought they were. Hank and that other girl were probably about the same age. The others were all younger, between fourteen and sixteen, he thought. Raven was cool, a little over the top maybe, but essentially a good person. Hank… well, he wasn’t sure about the quiet nerdy boy yet. He seemed to have another layer underneath that, one that told Alex to be wary. And the other girl hadn’t spoken yet. He didn’t even know her name.

She’d arrived the day after he had, and for some reason she fascinated him. Obviously, part of it was physical. He wasn’t blind. And she was beautiful. Her hair was shoulder length, a deep auburn red, and it curled perfectly to frame her face. Her nose turned up a little at the end, like a gentle ski jump, and her lips were… very distracting. But it was her eyes that intrigued him the most. They were green, like the jade vase his grandmother had owned. They were gentle, but focused always, and they had a hint of mischief in them. He was captivated by them. As he was thinking all of this, those complicated eyes met his in the reflection of the glass wall, and for a moment he thought she might have smiled at him. And then it was gone. Suddenly he became aware _everyone_ was looking at him. Oh great, he thought, it must finally be his turn to demonstrate what he could do.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you guys,” he protested, still unwilling to unleash the destructive force inside of him.

“Oh come on, Alex! We all showed ours!” Raven encouraged him.

“Well, fine, but not in here. I can’t do it in here,” he conceded.

“Out there then?” Sean (Banshee, as Raven had decided he should be) suggested, pointing out into the night at the courtyard and the overbearing statue.

“Okay, but stay back, alright?” Alex warned. He still felt a little unsure about this, but something in him wanted to show off what he could do. He walked out into the courtyard, every step building in confidence, and he squared off against the statue. The schoolboy inside him felt excited at the prospect of taking the imposing thing down a peg or two. Despite his warning ,the other teens had crept up to the window and were watching him with bated breath. He looked back at them for a moment, wavering in his decision, not wanting to hurt anyone by accident. Each of them looked excited, anticipation plain on their faces. Except her. She looked… curious, yes, but there was something else. She met his eyes again and he saw it clearly for a second. She _understood_. That was all he needed. He turned back to the statue and with a smirk he called up the red rings of power, hurling them at the target haphazardly, knocking the head off the figure, and then blasting the rest of it to pieces.

Applause and cheers came from behind him as his friends took in the spectacle. He came back inside, bowing to them as he did so, a smile spread across his face. _Friends_. The thought hit him like a freight train. He’d ever really had friends before. His smile widened.

“Havok! We’ll call you Havok!” Raven declared excitedly, pleased with the name.

 _Havok_ , Alex thought. Well, it could have been worse.

“That just leaves you, Francesca!” Raven continued, spinning around to face the girl with the green eyes. Alex started, realising that he now had a name to go with the gorgeous face. _Francesca_. It suited her. She stood up, smiling a little at Raven, and nodded silently.

She moved to the center of the room, gesturing to the others to give her some space. Then she moved her hands gently across her face, in a movement that reminded Alex of tai-chi. Her whole body shimmered slightly, like Raven did before she morphed into someone else, and then… she was gone. Alex panicked. Had someone teleported her away?! Then he felt someone place a hand gently on the small of his back, and he jumped. Spinning on his heel, he turned around but there wasn’t anyone there. Then Raven laughed from the other side of the room, and clapped her hands excitedly.

“Oh that’s awesome! Invisibility? Way cool!” she exclaimed. The pieces fell into place and Alex relaxed. She could turn invisible. A little clichèd for the quietest girl in the room, but pretty cool nonetheless. Francesca flickered back into the room before he could blink, standing next to Raven, and blushing slightly as the room applauded her. Then she looked up at Alex, their eyes connecting in a way that was starting to feel familiar, and she sent him a little smile all of his own. He smiled back, somehow knowing what a treasure he had just been given, remembering the feeling of her hand on his back, warm and comforting.

“What do we call you though? Invisigirl is way too obvious,” Raven whined, frustrated that her creativity was failing her. Alex grinned to himself, and then spoke up, his voice carrying across the room.

“Glass. She’s Glass.”

“I love it! Nice one, Havok!” Raven jumped onto the sofa and pointed at Sean, already moving on to the next fun thing. “Music maestro!” she commanded. Sean obeyed, flipping the switch on the radio next to him, the sound of “Bad Reputation” flooding the room. _Oddly appropriate_ , though Alex, watching as Raven pulled Angel up to dance with her. Angel’s jacket was left on the floor, allowing her wings to sparkle freely in the light. Soon everyone was dancing, or having some kind of fun. Hank even gave up protesting, and was hanging from the lighting fixture, laughing along with the rest of them. Francesca sat off to the side on her own, quietly contemplative as always.Making his excuses to Darwin (who he had been playing pinball with) Alex made his way over to her and slid down the wall to sit next to her. They stayed that way for a moment, the silence comfortable between them.

“I like it,” she said after a while. Alex almost jumped. Her voice was lower than he had expected, feminine but not like Raven or Angel. It was like honey.

“Like what?” he answered, quietly, not wanting to scare her back into silence.

“The name. Glass,” she clarified, trying the sound out on her tongue. She did like it. It suited her, and she liked it doubly because it had come from him. _Alex_. Francesca didn’t know what to make of most of these people. They seemed nice enough, but they were all so loud and brash. Alex was different. Sure, he matched them for confidence, and he had shown he could be violent if he wanted to, but he had a deeper layer of quiet reflection. That was something she related to.

“I like Francesca,” Alex smiled at her.

“It’s a little long,” she replied, ducking her face behind a curtain of hair to hide the blush in her cheeks.

“Essa, then,” Alex answered, enjoying the reaction he was getting. Francesca considered that for a moment, and then looked up at him. She met his eyes and was struck again by how fascinating she found them. They were a startling blue, but their depth was what really pulled her attention. She felt like she could drown in his eyes, and be quite happy about it. Alex, for his part, was matching her gaze, and slowly finding that this kind of steady eye contact was a lot more profound from a girl that usually looked anywhere but someone’s face. It made him wonder if he was special.

“Essa’s good too,” she conceded eventually. Then she smiled at him. Not a half smile, like all the ones he had seen so far, but a huge, full-on grin that sent a glowing feeling straight into the pit of his stomach. He would have said something, or maybe done something considering their relative privacy and how close she was sitting (she smelled amazing, like peppermint), had it not been for the explosion.

  



	2. Chapter 2

It was chaos. Bigger chaos than the party they’d been having, which honestly had been sorta fun. Francesca never usually enjoyed those things, she always felt like she was on the outside of it all. But here she fit in, for the first time  _ ever _ . Raven was nice, like a sister almost. She was a little wild, but it was exciting. And Hank seemed sweet (not that she liked him that way, especially as it was obvious that he liked Raven, and she sort of liked him back). But it was Alex that made her feel comfortable. Safe. Like she belonged there. Like she was  _ wanted _ . Weird, really, considering she’d only known him a few hours. But there was something about him that she couldn’t shake off, a feeling of familiarity almost. It was so lovely to sit there and talk to him, to just be happy in company for once. It was shattered too soon by the explosion from the courtyard. 

There were only three of them, but they soon overwhelmed the CIA agents that rushed to defend the base. One of them was creating and controlling a tornado, crashing through the pillars of the building as if it were made of Lego. The leader was wearing a strange looking helmet, and had simply  _ absorbed _ the giant fireball sent flying at him by the CIA agents. A fireball which he had then flung back at them, taking every one out in a single blast. That was the moment that had spurred action out of the teens, who had gathered together in the middle of the room in terror. Lead by Sean, they sprinted to try and help, but were held back by the remaining agents, who insisted they stay somewhere safe. Francesca couldn’t help feeling there wasn’t anywhere safe from these people. They protested, until the third member of the invading party made his move. A devil-like creature, complete with tail and red skin, teleported around the courtyard taking out the last of the CIA agents. Francesca followed Raven as the group of mutant teens ran back down the corridor to the room they had been partying in. Strange to think how that was only a few minutes ago. It felt like a lifetime. 

In the midst of the destruction, Francesca had lost track of Alex. Suddenly, though, she felt his presence behind her, moving through the group until he was at her side. She hadn’t realised she was on the front line facing the leader of the attackers until he spoke. It wasn’t directed at the teens, but rather at the demon. 

“Where’s the telepath?” His voice was grating, sharp and harsh. 

“Not here,” replied the red skinned man. 

“Good, then I can take this ridiculous thing off.” This reply was directed both to his accomplice and the group of mutants in the middle of the room, as if he were trying to share a joke with them. He lifted up his hands and the whole group tensed. Francesca considered disappearing, but she didn’t want to show her hand before she had to. As she was thinking this, she felt the group’s mentality shift from fear to defense. She was also keenly aware of Alex’s rippling muscles beneath his t-shirt next to her. He was radiating heat, and she couldn’t tell if that was him getting ready to use his powers or if it was just her imagination. 

“Relax, guys!” The man removed his helmet, and then raised one hand in mock surrender. “I’m not here to hurt you. My name is Shaw. I’m here to offer you a chance to join me. Be aware that if you aren’t with us, you are against us.” He looked at the group of teens the same way a man appraises livestock. “You don’t belong here. Join me.”

Francesca balked at his words, a kind of nausea writhing in her stomach. Go with  _ him _ ? No way! She  _ did _ belong here. She’d never felt like she belonged  _ anywhere _ before she came here. This was her fresh start, her new family, and he wanted her to give it up? Never. She felt Alex tense further and assumed he’d come to the same conclusion. She hoped everyone had. But Angel stepped forward, and the rest of them looked towards her in disbelief.

“He’s right. They aren’t like us here,” she offered them as an explanation. Then she turned back to Shaw and took his outstretched hand. He smiled at her. Angel made eye contact with Darwin, and he stretched out a hand of his own, trying to pull her back to them. But she shook her head, and Darwin retracted his hand sadly. Shaw shook his head too, obviously hoping that more of them would have chosen to join him.  He turned to go, using some kind of energy to levitate himself into the air, Angel flying next to him. The tornado guy lifted himself into the air, and the red-devil ( _ Azazel _ , thought Francesca. Shaw had called him  _ Azazel _ ) disappeared, presumably teleporting to the location the others were heading to. She was vaguely aware that Alex and Darwin had exchanged looks. Then Alex nodded, and Darwin called out.

“Wait! I’ll go with you too,” he said, causing Shaw to turn around and come back to the ground. Angel smiled, glad that her friend was coming with her. Shaw held out a hand to Darwin.

“What’s your mutation then, friend?”

“I adapt to survive,” Darwin replied, with a small smirk. Then suddenly he dropped to the floor, simultaneously shouting “Alex!”.

Francesca felt Raven grab her from behind, forcing her backwards, away from Alex. The whole group hit the floor, as Alex shot three red blasts straight at Shaw’s head. But instead of wiping him out, Shaw absorbed the blasts like he had done with the fireball. Then he turned to Darwin, pulling him off the ground into a standing position. Francesca felt the fear run through her, and she shook off Raven to stand up. She had to stop Shaw, someone had to stop him. He was going to do something awful. Her gut was screaming at her. Shaw, meanwhile, was forcing Alex’s blast energy out of one hand into a small concentrated ball. Holding Darwin’s face in the other hand, he started to push the ball of energy into Darwin’s mouth. Darwin fought, struggling first against the grip, and then to keep his mouth closed. Francesca was getting desperate, all of her hatred for Shaw flowing through her. Suddenly, a jolt of energy burst out of her fingers and flew at Darwin. It surrounded him, and he pushed back from Shaw, a triumphant smile replacing the fear that had clouded his face. Shaw growled, low and threatening, snapping his head to see who had thwarted him. Francesca felt her legs tremble but she wouldn’t let her concentration break. Darwin made his way back to the group quickly. When he arrived there, she slowly spread the force field outwards until it surrounded all of her friends. Shaw couldn’t touch any of them now. He knew it too. Growling at her again, he gestured sharply with his head, and propelled himself into the air again. 

“Enemies it is then,” he said, his voice still cordial but his face betraying his anger. Then he left, flying off into the cold night air, with the tornado guy, and Angel following after him. Only when they were completely out of sight did Francesca drop the shield. 

Suddenly everyone was moving at once. Raven raced to Darwin, checking him over for injuries. Hank and Sean joined her, Hank insisting he could help with his first aid skills, and Sean making jokes to cover everyone’s visible fear. Only Alex and Francesca stayed still. Francesca was trying not to move too much for fear she’d black out. That shield had taken a lot out of her. She hadn’t even known she could do that.  _ Wow _ . Alex was simply staring. Frozen in place, he was staring straight at her, mouth open slightly in awe of the girl in front of him. He had thought he could help, and had almost gotten Darwin killed in the process. And then this quiet, shy, invisible girl had stepped forward and saved them all. She had looked so  _ powerful _ . Like a  _ goddess _ . It was amazing. 

“Wow.” Francesca heard Alex say, the word escaping his lips in a breathless manner, like it had snuck out when it wasn’t supposed to. She turned to smile at him, and immediately lost her battle with the darkness. She saw his awed expression turn to one of fear, and then the blackness overwhelmed her. 

Right before she passed out, she felt two strong arms catch her, and a familiar voice whisper into her ear. “I’ve got you, Essa. You’ll be okay, I’ve got you.”


	3. Chapter 3

“She blacked out after the attack! Please let me through, I have to see her!”

 

The voice was deep, resonating with force, and Francesca heard the urgency of it cut through the fog in her head. She felt exhausted, as if she’d just finished a 75 mile run. And her head felt strange, like it was stuffed full of cotton wool. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, so they hadn’t realised she was awake. But she recognised that voice, and it’s presence was already comforting.  _ Alex _ .  _ Alex was here. Alex was trying to get to her _ .

 

“Look, I promised I would look after her! You have to let me in!” Alex protested, pushing against the hands of the security guard trying to hold him back. It was probably a good thing that the man didn’t know how much effort it was taking Alex not to simply blast his way into the hospital room.  _ Essa was in danger. Essa was hurt. Essa needs me. Essa. Essa. Essa. _ The words thundered around his brain like a train on a loop. He didn’t understand the force of them, but he felt them in his heart and he knew that somehow this girl had become his number one priority. 

 

“Young man,” repeated the doctor in a measured, but strained, tone, “We are doing what we can for her. If you are not family then you can’t come in, and unless you have other information that might help us with diagnosis then I suggest you go and sit with the rest of your friends in the waiting room. We will inform you if anything changes.”

 

Alex was not going to sit around and wait to find out if Essa was going to be okay. But before he could open his mouth to say as much, something changed in the room ahead of him. A nurse rushed out of the room, frantically whispered something in the doctor’s ear, and ran down the corridor in the opposite direction, a determined look on her face. The doctor looked after the nurse for a moment, and then looked back at Alex. He waved a hand at the security guard. 

 

“Come in young man. I believe the lady is asking for you,” the doctor said, gesturing in the direction of Francesca’s room.

 

“Thank you,” Alex managed, his throat suddenly choked up.  _ She was awake. She’s okay. She’s okay. Essa. _ He pushed past the two older men and into the room, with the pristine bed, and the stark white walls. She looked so pale, whiter than the walls, and her face was twisted as if she was in pain, eyes shut, mouth squeezed tightly like she was holding in her screams. Alex rushed to her side, and took her hand. 

 

“I’m here, Essa,” he whispered, “It’s okay, I’m here.” He stroked his thumb across the back of her hand absent-mindedly. Francesca’s face untwisted, and her forehead smoothed out of its deep frown. She opened one eye, warily, and saw the familiar blonde hair flopping lazily into the gorgeous blue eyes, and she relaxed.

 

“Alex.” The word was breathed more than spoken, but the relief in it was palpable. Alex leaned closer to her and sent a quick pulse through their intertwined fingers.

 

“I’m here. It’s okay. Are you in pain, do you need anything?”

 

“Water, please,” Francesca croaked, her throat was dry and her voice hoarse. Had she been screaming? There was a black spot in her memory, right after she had woken up. She had heard Alex talking, and then she had tried to say something and…. Nothing. Blackness. Until Alex had taken her hand. Alex handed her a glass of water from the nightstand. As she drank it, she sat up, gingerly, waving away Alex’s concerned hand. 

 

“I’m fine, just tired. That forcefield took a lot out of me,” she explained. 

 

Alex’s eyes went a little wider as he remembered the sight of her, powerful and sure, protecting them all. “You were amazing,” he said. 

 

“I didn’t even know I could do that,” Francesca whispered. They sat in silence for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes, both wanting to say something, but not knowing exactly what it was. They were interrupted by a loud bang as the door to the hospital room slammed open. Alex leapt up, turning so he had his back to Francesca, one arm extended protectively in front of her, his eyes fierce and firmly trained on the man in the doorway. 

 

“Shaw,” he growled. “Get out.”

 

“Oh I don’t think I shall be doing that, Mr Summers. You see, I have a score to settle with the red-head. And before you get any ideas about getting in my way, please bear in mind that your other friends in the lobby will suffer rather nasty deaths at the hands of my colleagues should you attempt to do so.” Shaw smiled thinly, and took a step towards the bed. Alex moved to stop him, damn the consequences. The others could take care of themselves, but he would rather die than let Shaw get to Essa. But the girl in the bd spoke up. 

“No-one else needs to get hurt, Alex. It’s okay.” Francesca felt a strength in her words that she didn’t feel in her heart. She was terrified of this man and all he could do to her, but it was more important to protect the others. She was just one person. What was it her father had always said?  _ The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few _ . 

 

Shaw laughed, low and empty of humour. “Smart girl.” He advanced to the bed, and pushed Alex aside. The thoughts in the boy’s head were pounding now, like hammers on the inside of his mind.  _ Keep her safe. Get Shaw away. GET AWAY FROM HER.  _  But he couldn’t move. Like his limbs had been pinned to his sides, he felt as if he was made of lead.  Shaw leant forwards and whispered something to Francesca that Alex couldn’t hear. Her head snapped towards the fair haired boy, and her eyes were wide with fear. And then they were both gone. 

 

Alex panicked. Shaw and Essa were gone. Vanished in the blink of an eye, presumably by the teleporter. Shaw had taken his Essa.  _ His Essa _ . The thought echoed in his brain like a drum. Where had he taken her?! And what had he said to make her look so afraid? Alex ran back to the lobby, the group of other mutants huddled together in one corner. He skidded to a halt and began to explain at a thousand miles an hour what had happened. And as the others began to come up with a plan (that mostly seemed to consist of first going back to find the professor and then finding Francesca), Alex made a promise. 

 

“I will find you I swear, Francesca Glass. I’m going to bring you home.”

 

…………………………..

 

Essa stared at the wall of her cell. It was grey, like the rest of her surroundings. Not that the colour of the walls mattered much. Shaw had made it very clear that this was not going to be a holiday. The claw marks on her arms were still fresh, and she had seen the look in the eye of the last man Shaw had sent in to try and torture the location of the professor out of her. She knew it wasn’t going to be long before Shaw allowed the men to do whatever they wanted with her. And that terrified her beyond words. But all she could think about were a pair of startling blue eyes, and the last words Shaw had said to her before he zapped her away from the hospital. 

 

“I’m going to enjoy watching you kill him.”

  
  



End file.
